1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a removable and resealable cover for a container and more particularly to such a cover having a spout integrally formed thereon and a spout cover pivotally mounted to the spout and sealable therewith.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The popularity of soft drinks and other beverages which are sold in a container from which the beverage is to be directly consumed has been steadily increasing in recent years. One very popular form of such a beverage container is a cylindrical can formed of a thin walled metal such as aluminum. Typically, such a beverage can features a so-called "pop-top" opening tab affixed to an upper planar surface thereof. The opening tab may be removed to expose an opening in the upper surface of the can. This type of beverage container is used for soft drinks, beer, fruit juices, iced tea and iced tea mixtures, carbonated waters, mineral waters, fruit juice based drinks, punch-type drinks carbonated beverages, etc.
One problem which arises with the use of this type of beverage can is that once the pop top is removed and the drinking opening exposed, no means is provided for resealing the opening. If it is desired, for example, to drink part of the beverage and reserve the rest for later use, the user will be unable to effectively seal the remaining contents of the can. If the can is used to contain a carbonated beverage, the beverage will quickly go "flat" in its unsealed, opened condition due to escape of carbon dioxide gas therefrom. Generally, any of the beverage not consumed upon first opening the container or shortly thereafter will have to be discarded.
An additional problem arises with beverage containers of this type in that no provision is made for a clean and sanitary means of drinking the beverage. The user must drink the contents of the container directly through the opening exposed in the top by removing the opening tab thereof. Thus, the user's mouth, tongue and lips come in direct contact with the various surfces of the container. Since the container may come in contact with many unsanitary and disease bearing sources during its manufacture, processing and subsequent handling, there is a potential risk of contamination. The only choices the user of such a container has heretofore had is either risking contamination or pouring the contents of the container into, a glass.
Several attempts have been made to solve the problem of providing a sanitary means of drinking from such a container. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,561,557 discloses a beverage container having an enclosed spout which is automatically released from the container when it is opened by pulling back the opening tab thereof. The user's lips and mouths can use the drinking spout without contacting the top or walls of the container while drinking the contents from the container, thereby avoiding contamination. However, the enclosed spout disclosed in this patent must be provided on the can as part of the manufacturing process. The spout may not be attached to the can by the consumer at the time of use. Therefore, the problem of sanitary drinking from a conventional beverage container is not addressed by this patent.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,219,137 discloses an extendable spout for a container formed of blown plastic in which the top of the container is formed of convoluted plastic which may be nested into the container. The spout may be extended from the container by expanding the convolutions to form a convenient pouring spout or funnel. However, in addition to the problem of the spout being formed in the manufacturing process, the container disclosed herein is a blown plastic container which is unsuitable for many types of carbonated beverages.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,550,568 and 4,090,660 disclose lids which may be attached to conventional containers. The lid of the first mentioned patent includes an extended spout which may be drunk from. The lid of the second mentioned patent includes a pair of radial score lines which can be torn to form a liftable tab so a person can drink from the container while the lid is still on; the tab being pivotal so to fit on the cover in order to close it.
However, neither U.S. Pat. No. 2,550,568 nor 4,090,660 discloses a means of resealing the lid so that carbonation may not escape from the contents of the container. The pivotable tab formed integral on the lid of U.S. Pat. No. 4,090,660 may be re-closed but, since no provision is made for a sealing closure, the closed lid will not prevent the escape of carbonation.
It would be desirable to provide means by which the user of a beverage container may safely and sanitaryily drink therefrom, which means may be mounted by the user on the container at the time of use.
It would also be desirable to provide means for resealing a container after opening thereof to prevent loss of carbonation of the contents and/or to prevent accidental spillage and leakage thereof.
It would be highly desirable to provide a sanitary means of drinking from a container which may be mounted to the container at the time of use and which may be resealed to prevent loss of carbonation of the contents thereof.